Ballad of Youth
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: A collection of short fics about Aaron growing up on the island. Involves some CC and very mild JK
1. Do It Again, Dad!

Three year old Aaron Pace was a nightmare child. He was always running around, without fear, without sense of danger, getting into trouble. Claire and Charlie tried everything they could to get him to calm down, but nothing worked unless he was safely occupied. One thing that had occupied him for hours, however, was when Sawyer had dropped a wallet in front of him, and Aaron had been content to rumage through it for hours. Claire had been pleasently surprised that he was so easily amused with the wallet, and Charlie had sat with him and told him about the different things inside it.

However, things took a change when they had settled him for the night. Claire had put him down to sleep, still with the wallet in his pudgy hand, and gone back to the fireside a few feet away with Charlie. It was only a few minutes later that Aaron screamed and erupted in loud sobbing.

Thankfully, no one else had gone to sleep, so he didn't wake anyone up, but his cries attracted everyones attention.

He managed to tell his mother between sobs that he had swallowed a coin from the wallet, and he thought he was going to die. While Claire tried to console him, Charlie checked the coins in the wallet. There was exactly the same amount there as there had been earlier, so really he hadn't swallowed anything. Charlie explained this to Claire, who looked a lot more at ease and then took a coin from the wallet.

In an attempt to calm him down, Charlie leaned forward and pretended to pull it from Aaron's ear. When Aaron saw what Charlie had done, he was delighted, and stopped crying.

But in a flash, Aaron had snatched it from Charlie's hand, swallowed it, and cheerfully demanded: "Do it again, Dad!"


	2. Shoe Laces

One particular morning on the island, Jack was taking inventory of his remaining medical supplies when Aaron wandered into the cave. He was four years old now.

"Hey, Aaron, where's your Mom?" He asked.

"With Dad outside." He answered, walking up to Jack. "Jack, you're a doctor." He said.

"Yes, Aaron I am." Jack said with a smile.

"Mom said that if I ever needed help, I can ask you. Is that right?" He checked.

"Yes, that's right." Jack said.

"Well then," Aaron said, and extended his foot out to Jack. "Can you please tie my shoe?"

Jack laughed to himself, tying up Aaron's shoelace from the oversized shoes found in the wreckage, and continued laughing silently as the little boy went back outside to his mother.


	3. Snake

**Snake!**

"SNAKE! SNAKE!"

The frightened call of the three-year-old boy startled all who heard it. Claire and Kate rushed to their feet, abandoning the fruit they had been sorting through, separating the bruised and unedible fruit from the ones they would actually eat. They ran towards the edge of the clearing where Aaron was playing.

"I've never seen a snake around here before," Kate realised.

"Aaron?" Claire asked, sweeping him up in her arms and away from the danger.

"SNAKE!" he cried again, this time leaning out of his mother's arms and pointing into the flowers.

Claire leaned in, but not too far. "I don't see anything..."

"In flowers!" he told her.

She looked closer, narrowed her eyes and then... "...oh my god..."

"There, Momma, snake!" Aaron told her.

Claire started laughing, trying not to sound hysterical but failing miserably and even Aaron knew it. "What is it?" Kate asked her.

Claire pointed out the flower where she had seen the snake, and the two women laughed as they gazed upon the rather small caterpillar that Aaron thought was a snake.

"No laugh!" Aaron told them sternly. "Snake eat flowers!"


	4. Who's Smarter?

**Who's Smarter?**

"Are you mad?"

Charlie looked at the blond boy before him. Aaron was nine years old now and becoming quite a handful – they always thought that the day to day life on the island would satisfy his energy levels, but he quickly became accustomed to – and bored of – the pace of their days. "I'm not mad...just disappointed," he grimaced, realising how much he sounded like his own father.

"Don't you want to hear my side?" Aaron asked unfairly.

"Aaron, how can there be two sides to it?" Charlie asked him.

"There are!" he insisted. "I got all the questions right on Mr Locke's test he gave us and he said that I did it wrong because I didn't write down how I did it."

Locke was teaching the children in the absence of a school, especially now that other people were pairing up and having babies. "Why didn't you write it down?" he asked.

"Because I did it in my head," he said with a pleased smile.

"Well, did you tell Mr Locke that?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But he didn't believe me."

"Aaron,"

"He said I was cheating," he pouted.

Charlie sighed. "Aaron, he is the only teacher on this island."

"Well, he's not a very good one because I'm obviously smarter than him."

Charlie noticed something on the boy's face, and grimaced. "You didn't say that to him, did you?"

Aaron nodded.

"What did he say?"

"He dragged me back here to see you," he said, looping to the start of the conversation. "Do we have to tell mom about this?" he asked.

"She will find out eventually," Charlie pointed out.

"I know," he whined, "but she'll shout at Mr Locke again and that was embarrassing last time."

"Ok," he sighed in agreement. "It'll be our secret."

"Thanks Dad," Aaron smiled, hugging him. "You're the best."


End file.
